Report finds 10 children in Gaza losing limbs daily since conflict began

A horrifying new statistic has emerged about the impact of Israel's war in Gaza - in the three months since the conflict began, 10 children every day have lost a limb in the fighting. 

The charity working with the victims says it's even too much to bear for the doctors and nurses trying to help them. 

Life is now a lot harder for young Eman Al Kholy, who has lost her leg and her family. 

"The girls are always saying 'mom' and 'dad' and I can't confront them that their parents died," their foster mother said.  

She's worried Eman will lose more of her leg because of the lack of medical care in Gaza. 

"There is insufficient medicine here. We demand an artificial limb as soon as possible so she can practice her life normally, and to do everything she wants." 

Save The Children charity released sobering statistics on Sunday that show on average 10 Gazan children are losing one or more limbs every day. 

"More than 10 children per day, on average, have lost one or both of their legs in Gaza since conflict erupted three months ago," Save the Children said in a statement. 

Save the Children's country director Jason Lee said he has seen doctors and nurses "completely overwhelmed when children come in with blast wounds".

"The impact of seeing children in that much pain and not having the equipment, medicines to treat them or alleviate pain is too much for even experienced professionals," he said.

"Even in a war zone, the sights and sounds of a young child mutilated by bombs cannot be reconciled let alone understood within the bounds of humanity." 

He said small children caught up in explosions are particularly vulnerable to major, life-changing injuries. 

"Their skulls are still not fully formed, and their undeveloped muscles offer less protection, so a blast is more likely to tear apart organs in their abdomen, even when there's no visible damage," he explained. 

"They have weaker necks and torsos, so less force is needed to cause a brain injury." 

However, the horror doesn't end there. 

"Sheer numbers of children who are losing limbs and are required to have the amputations without anesthesia and also not receiving antibiotics once they've had the operations due to lack of medical supplies," Save the Children NZ's Jacqui Southey said.  

"We're talking about children of all ages. From infants through to teenagers - children that were healthy, well-loved, children with families and lives at school," Southey added.

"Their lives will never be the same, those that are surviving are surviving with horrific injuries."

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Eleven-year-old Noor Marouf's left leg was almost entirely ripped off when her home was hit by an explosion. 

She now fears for her right leg which has screws drilled into the bone.

"It hurts me a lot, and I want to go to United Arab Emirates because I'm afraid that they'll have to cut off my other leg," she told Newshub. 

"I used to run and play, I was so happy with my life, but now when I lost my leg my life became ugly and I got sad, I hope I can get an artificial limb." 

"Children are being maimed and disfigured by the bombing that is happening to them," Southey stressed.  

It's estimated that nearly 1000 children have had one or both legs amputated since the conflict started three months ago. 

"I've been with Save The Children for more than five years now and this is by far the most devastating, brutal conflict that children have gone through potentially modern history," Southey said. 

"It's complete devastation. We have never had a conflict that we can't respond to in this manner and that is because of the constant siege, the constant bombing." 

Those who have survived the conflict are now learning to live with life-changing injuries in what's been condemned as a "grave violation against children".